You are not alone facing this mystery; we all struggle to understand the complexity of life. Rushford Lutheran Church is a place where you can come to learn about God's love for you, where you can grow in faith, use your gifts, and a place where you can share your joys and sorrows in a community of care, compassion and faith. We invite you to come and to experience the difference this makes in your life.
For more information about the mission and ministry at Rushford Lutheran Church please call (507) 864-7152 or e-mail rlc@acegroup.cc
Pastor's Thoughts
I hope you have had a good summer—a time to visit with family and friends, a time to get away and rest and relax, a time to enjoy those things only summer can offer. Even though the days are still warm we automatically shift into our fall mode come the month of September. It is time to begin anew the task of teaching our children, learning more as adults, and coming together for worship.
Sunday school classes begin on September 12th, as do the confirmation classes. Christian Crossings will be here to help lead us in our worship and to get the children “fired up” for their classes. Fifth graders' “First Communion” classes begin on Wednesday, September 8th, at 7:00 P.M. Chancel Choir begins another year of practices, singing at worship services beginning on September 19th.
A very important event in the month of September is an evening with Pastor Mark Vander Tuig, who is the new Service Coordinator for LCMC (Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ). We will meet upstairs in the sanctuary and Pastor Vander Tuig will tell us all about LCMC and answer questions anyone might have. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about LCMC, the association we voted to join with at our congregational meeting on Sunday, June 27th. We also voted, by an almost 71% majority, to leave the ELCA.
The next congregational meeting, which our constitution mandates us to have in order to leave the ELCA, is Saturday, October 9th, at 7:00 P.M. The RLC council met with Bishop Usgaard on Monday, August 9th. Many members of the congregation were also present. He informed us of what we need to do if we are leaving the ELCA. His main message was that the two sides on this issue of staying or leaving the ELCA talk with each other. He ended with devotion from Genesis 13:8ff, where Abraham and his nephew Lot go separate ways. They go different ways but they do so without strife between them. That is how it should be among Christians. Each must respect the other and be concerned for the welfare of the other.
In one sense the beginning of September is the beginning of a new year for a church. May it be thus so for us as a congregation. Let us approach the next congregational meeting in October with a singleness of mind, putting behind us the strife and divisiveness of the past, and looking forward to being a Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ church that can go about doing the ministry of the church without all the conflict of the past.
The second vote in October isn't about whether you agree or disagree concerning the issue of homosexuality, or about Biblical authority, or about the politics and power structure in the ELCA. Yes, these are important but, in my mind, they now become secondary. The second vote is about who we are as neighbors, brothers and sisters in Christ. Each side had their say before the first vote and we, as a congregation, voted 71% to leave and 29% to stay in the ELCA. The second vote is about respecting the others' choice, acknowledging that we are moving in a direction that the majority of the people wish to go. If you had conflict within your own personal family and took a vote as to which way to go, would you insist on taking a second vote if your way wasn't chosen? No, I don't believe any family would. Why should it be any different at our church? Let there be dignity and honor among us as we try our best to model the life of Christ within us. In the end, it is only Jesus Christ who matters in our lives. What would Jesus want us to do? How do we imitate the life of Christ to others?
Shalom,
Roger
Pastor Roger Michaelson